10 days - what to do??

Hi. Me and my wife will be traveling to Switzerland for our first time in October 17th. We will be coming from Amsterdam by plane to Zurich or Geneva and will have to leave from Zurich on 28th.
We'd love to see the Alps and hopefully get our first ski lesson - we were thinking about Zermatt and taking the Glacier Express.

Apart from that, we'd like to see the lakes and we want action and some quality rest time. We'll be traveling by train.

We'd appreciate any advice on that - a suggestion of itinerary, how many days would be enough for skiing, etc.

Wish we had more time... :-)

Claudio

Hi, there!
I know that 10 days is a lot to ask but any tip will be more than appreciated.
Thanks in advance!
Claudio and Renata

Hi Claudio and Renata,

Any number of days is indeed not enough to cover the whole of Switzerland ;-) There's so much to see and do. I think it's good to go to Zermatt, as you want to ski and most ski slopes will not open until early December. You can ski in Zermatt (Klein Matterhorn) all year round though.

After that, you can take the Glacier Express to St. Moritz and do a couple of day trips from there. Next, you could take the train to Tirano (Bernina Express route), the bus to Lugano and the train to Lucerne. Lucerne would then be your third base. You can do some boat trips on the lake from there.

The timetable provides details about the traveling times.

Just a suggestion, I hope it's a start.

Hi, Arno, thanks for the tips!

It´s really a demanding task planning for only 10/11 days. :-)

We were thinking differently but now we´ll really consider your ideas.

Here is what we were thinking of doing before your tips:

Day 1 Oct, 17th - Arrival in Geneve
Day 2 Oct 18th - Boat trip to Lausanne and Montreux
Day 3 Oct 19th - Interlaken
Day 4 Oct 20th - Jungfrauhof
Day 5 Oct 21st - Day trip to Bern (not sure if it worths the trip)
Day 6 Oct 21nd - Zermatt
Day 7 Oct 23rd - Zermatt
Day 8 Oct 24th - Glacier Express to St Moritz
Day 9 Oct 25th - St Moritz (day trip)
Day 10 Oct 26th - Zurich
Day 11 Oct 27th - Zurich
Day 12 will be leaving Zurich 6.00am.

Could you please tell me what would you change in this itinerary? Me and my wife have never skied before and we´d love spending at least one day having our first lesson. I wonder
if that would also be possible at the Jungfrauhof this time of the year...

Thank you. :-)

Arno said: Hi Claudio and Renata,

Any number of days is indeed not enough to cover the whole of Switzerland ;-) There's so much to see and do. I think it's good to go to Zermatt, as you want to ski and most ski slopes will not open until early December. You can ski in Zermatt (Klein Matterhorn) all year round though.

After that, you can take the Glacier Express to St. Moritz and do a couple of day trips from there. Next, you could take the train to Tirano (Bernina Express route), the bus to Lugano and the train to Lucerne. Lucerne would then be your third base. You can do some boat trips on the lake from there.

The timetable provides details about the traveling times.

Just a suggestion, I hope it's a start.

Hi Claudio,

Your itinerary is fine and allows you to see some major parts of Switzerland. Any change I could suggest is from my personal point of view. Your preferences may be different. That being said, this is what comes to my mind:

Day 3: I would not spend a whole day in town, but rather do some hiking, a boat trip or visit another viewing point. Our website is full of suggestions. Or is this also a traveling day from Geneva to Interlaken? In that case I can only recommend to travel via Zweisimmen (the Golden Pass route).
Day 5: Bern is worth a visit if you like historical towns, museums, shopping, etc.
Day 6: Be sure to travel via the "old" route (via Kandersteg and Goppenstein) rather than the new tunnel. It takes longer but there's more to see.
Day 10/11: I would spend only one day in the city and rather fit a bit more of Alpine scenery into my itinerary, such as the Bernina Express or a hike somewhere.
Day 12: Since you'll be leaving early, you may want to look into an hotel close to the airport.

I guess you mean Jungfraujoch by the way?

I forgot to say that I am not aware of ski facilities at the Jungfraujoch. You can ask the Jungfrau Railways though.

Jungfraujoch, sure! Sorry about the spell..

I´m going to review it with my wife later and get back to you tomorrow, ok?

Thank you so much for your help. :-)

Arno, thank yo so much for the tips! We'll take the scenic routes, stay one more day in Interlaken for day trips (Bern included) then Zermatt via the old route, Glacier Express to St. Moritz (more day triips - including Mt Titlis) and one day at Zurich!
We're considering getting Swiss Passes, can you please tell me the difference between 1st and 2nd class passes?
All the best,
Claudio

I´m going to review it with my wife later and get back to you tomorrow, ok?

Thank you so much for your help. :-)

Hi Claudio,

1st versus 2nd class is covered in our FAQ.

My wife and I holidayed in Lauterbrunnen in January for 15 days and that was not long enough,a trip to the Jungfraujoch is a must and a walk through the lovely village of Grindlewald to gaze at the Eiger, Monk and the Jungfrau mountains is wonderful.We have visited Grindlwald many times and always gaze in wonder at this magnificent sight.Enjoy your holiday, I wish I was going with you .